Family killed in western Colorado plane crash encountered adverse conditions

The Makepeace family of Fort Collins, Jeff, Jennifer and their children, Addison and Benjamin, died Friday evening when their plane crashed in the White River National Forest north of Glenwood Springs.

Federal investigators say a pilot who crashed his small plane in western Colorado — killing himself, his wife and their two young children — encountered conditions he was not qualified to fly in.

The National Transportation Safety Board says 47-year-old Jeff Makepeace and his family were flying through conditions that included gusty winds and low visibility when their single-engine propeller plane crashed in mountainous terrain near Glenwood Springs the night of Sept. 15.

Those conditions require pilots to fly primarily by referencing the plane's instruments.

The Denver Post reports Makepeace and his 45-year-old wife, Jennifer, were killed, as were their 10-year-old twins, Addison and Benjamin.

The Fort Collins family was flying from a northern Colorado airport to Moab, Utah.